India v West Indies, 3rd Test, Kolkata, Day 5
Sunday, November 3, 2002

When the match resumed this morning, there were three possible results, the most likely being a draw or a West Indian win. But Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman batted sensibly to ensure that the last option was ruled out.

That said, there were a few errors of judgement from Carl Hooper this morning, especially in the first 40 minutes. The plans he made in that period were crucial, and in a sense they let India off the hook lightly. He got it spot-on early, when he started with a pace-spin attack of Mervyn Dillon and himself.

As Marlon Samuels said in an interview yesterday, there was sharp turn in the first hour and Hooper was the ideal candidate to take advantage of that.

Dillon bowled well but couldn't pick up the wickets while Hooper bowled four overs for 12 runs before Tendulkar struck him for two boundaries in an over. Hooper, who looks a very reluctant bowler, immediately took himself out of the attack, which was a big mistake because both Laxman and Tendulkar were clearly uncomfortable facing him. A couple of times, the ball took the glove only to fall marginally short of the fielder.

Hooper's decision to replace Dillon with Cameron Cuffy, who does little more than bowl line and length, was further good news for the Indians.

After the first 45 minutes, Tendulkar carried on pretty much as he liked, batting with the fluency that he had shown yesterday. But once we neared lunch, he retreated back into the attritional mode that we have seen from him quite often in the past year. The runs dried up and he started grafting, enjoying two chances once he got into the 170s. When he plays for time instead of seizing the initiative, as is his natural instinct, he looks a lesser player.

By the time he was out though, India were safe. What we saw after that was a mere formality. Laxman, who can play all the shots as he showed us at this very venue last year, restrained himself for the larger cause and brought up his second big hundred in two outings here. Today's play was all about the first hour though. Once India crossed that hurdle, they were never troubled.

The team came up to expectations throughout the series, with all the main players contributing their bit to an ultimately emphatic series victory.

I still feel an opportunity was missed though in that India didn't try out a couple of youngsters. That's the only tinge of regret I have looking back.

The hamstring injury that has ruled Tendulkar out of the one-day series provides an opportunity for someone else – ideally a young prospect – to come in and stake a claim for the future. There's no harm in giving someone free rein in a series against West Indies and in that regard, the enforced rest for Tendulkar might be a positive thing.

Sanjay Manjrekar, the mainstay of India's batting in the late 1980s and early '90s, will be providing the Expert View on every day of this Test series. He was speaking to Dileep Premachandran. More Expert View
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4

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